albemarle police shootinghttp://www.readthehook.com/taxonomy/term/6516/all
enSelf-defense: Cop cleared in Afton shootinghttp://www.readthehook.com/110041/self-defense-no-charges-officer-afton-shooting
<p>The officer who fired five bullets and killed 21-year-old Greg Rosson had "reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury" and will not face criminal charges, according to a determination released August 23 by Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford.</p>
<p>That assessment doesn't sit well with Rosson's family. "I don't see how you shoot someone five times and it's justified," says his mother Denise Rosson.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/110015/who-shot-greg-rosson-id-police-officer-still-secret">Who shot Greg Rosson? ID of police officer still secret</a></p>
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<p>The six-page report details the events of June 8, when Rosson's mother called 911 at 2:16am after being contacted by his girlfriend. Denise Rosson said the girlfriend screamed and the phone went dead. When she called back, her son answered the girlfriend's phone, said he was choking the woman and that his mother would be next, according to Lunsford's report.</p>
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<p>Officer Jim Larkin, who's been with Albemarle County Police for 10 years, was at a traffic stop in Old Trail in Crozet and closest to the scene. He headed west to 9049 Rockfish Gap Turnpike, stopped just down the road at the Rockfish Gap Country Store to get his rifle out of the trunk, and then pulled into the driveway at 2:30am.</p>
<p>En route, Larkin was advised by the Emergency Communications Center that the caller was unsure whether Rosson had a weapon. A dispatcher also told him that Rosson had a rifle in his truck in a recent encounter with Albemarle police, and that just a few days before, on June 3, another county officer requested backup because Rosson had gotten hostile with officers on the previous night, according to the prosecutor's report.</p>
<p>Rosson had a major confrontation with police at a Greenwood gas station December 9 and was charged with four counts of assaulting an officer, one of trying to disarm an officer with a stun gun, obstruction of justice, disorderly conduct, and drunk in public. He was scheduled to be in court on two of those charges June 11.</p>
<p>Within 30 seconds of pulling into the driveway, Larkin had fired his weapon.</p>
<p>According to the narrative of events, when Larkin arrived, he saw feet on the ground behind an SUV, and it appeared the person was being pulled or was dragging himself or herself behind the vehicle. Larkin radioed ECC at 02:30:56 that a person was on the ground, and he exited his patrol car with flashlight in hand and his gun drawn.</p>
<p>Larkin could hear a woman's voice behind the SUV and believed she was in distress, he told investigators. As he moved toward the rear of the SUV, he saw that Rosson had the woman in a chokehold. Larkin identified himself as a police officer and commanded Rosson to stop. Instead, according to the report, Rosson punched the woman several times, "suddenly got to his feet and, without hesitation, charged at Larkin," who was at the front driver's side of the SUV while Rosson was at the rear.</p>
<p>Believing Rosson intended to kill him, "Larkin fired until Rosson fell," says the report, aiming high to avoid hitting the woman on the ground. He reloaded, and called ECC at 02:31:25 to say shots were fired and to request an ambulance.</p>
<p>At that point, Larkin, still the only officer on the scene, took cover behind a tree and advised the woman, who appeared partially clothed and injured, to remain where she was. At 02:33:51, he requested an additional ambulance.</p>
<p>Six minutes after Larkin fired, Officer Turner Lowery arrived, immediately followed by Detective Jeremy Lavin at 02:38:33. Lavin began CPR on Rosson and continued until emergency medical technicians arrived at 2:44am. Rosson died at the scene, says Lunsford's report.</p>
<p>The autopsy determined that Rosson had six gunshot wounds and five bullets were recovered from his body. A wound to the neck had both entrance and exit wounds and is believed to have entered his chest at the left clavicle. Two of the shots were fatal, injuring his heart, esophagus, and lungs, and he died from significant loss of blood, according to the autopsy, which also noted his blood alcohol content was .17 or .18 at his time of death. The legal limit at which one can be convicted for driving under the influence in Virginia is .08.</p>
<p>Calling the events "tragic," Lunsford says her job was to make the determination whether the officer violated the law. "I determined the officer should not be charged because he reasonably feared for his life and for the woman's," she says.</p>
<p>Rosson's sister, Lauren Moore, says she learned that no charges would be filed in her brother's death when a television reporter called her, and she calls the decision "bullsh*t."</p>
<p>She also has questions that weren't answered: Why did Larkin respond to a domestic disturbance alone, and "why didn't he try to give Greg CPR?"</p>
<p>According to Albemarle County Police Sergeant Darryl Byers, there are no official guidelines on providing medical treatment and that officers must consider their own well being.</p>
<p>"As long as a situation seems safe enough to render assistance," he says, "it's okay to do so."</p>
<p>Rosson's sister also wonders why the ECC database didn't reveal that Rosson had mental health issues. According to Moore, after Rosson was arrested in December and in jail, he was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder.</p>
<p>Denise Rosson says she told the 911 dispatcher that Greg Rosson had a mental condition, and that when his "alter personality" was out, he was mean. "I told them his alter was out," she said in an August 16 interview. "I could tell that was his alter."</p>
<p>Lunsford points out how quickly the officer had to make a decision when he believed the woman's life and his own were in danger. While mental health issues should be taken into consideration, she says that when a larger person charges and doesn't stop when ordered, "everyone has a right to defend themselves." And the victim told investigators that night that Larkin had saved her life.</p>
<p>The victim declined the <em>Hook</em>'s request for an interview.</p>
<p>"I can't imagine what the Rosson family is going through, or the woman, or what the officer is going through," says Lunsford. "It was a very tragic situation. It was tragic for everyone. No one walks away clean."</p>
<p>Albemarle police Chief Steve Sellers says he was relieved the report came back the way it did absolving Officer Larkin of any wrongdoing. "Police shootings are tragic in any event," he says. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the original victim, our hearts and prayers go out to the Rosson family."</p>
<p>Seventy-five percent of the Albemarle County Police Department officers have crisis intervention training, including Larkin, says Sellers. But sometimes, there simply isn't enough time to call in a crisis intervention team. When questioned about using methods other than deadly force in the Rosson case, he says, "Most of my officers don't have Tasers. Officer Larkin didn't."</p>
<p>He also notes that for officers on the midnight shift covering Albemarle's 700-plus square miles, particularly in the rural areas, on average their backup is 12 minutes away.</p>
<p>Colonel Sellers says he thinks Larkin responded in the best way he could respond. "I think he saved a woman's life. I think he saved his own life. We could have had three people dead."</p>
<p>Officer Larkin has been on restricted duty for a few months, says Sellers, and still has to go through the "very painful" administrative investigation debriefing process. Part of that process, says Sellers, is looking as "what could we do differently, what should we do differently."</p>
<p>While police shootings are rare in Albemarle, Sellers acknowledges that the fatal shooting has led to greater scrutiny of county police, particularly in the wake of two other recent shootings by his officers, and he says the department is making a greater effort to train officers.</p>
<p>"Don't be afraid of police," he urges. 'We're there to help. This is a tragic situation."</p>
<p>For officers involved in fatal shootings, says Sellers, "We're all human beings. We bleed. We cry. We hurt. In situations where we take a life, it leaves a scar."</p>
<p>He adds, "It's very personal."</p>
<p><span class="userContent">It's very personal for Rosson's mother and sister, as well. </span></p>
<p><span class="userContent">Denise Rosson describes her son's relationship with the victim as "dysfunctional," and says that woman was involved in the December gas station brawl. She points out that it took six cops to arrest her son then. "And you know what? They didn't kill him," she says. "No shots were fired."<br /></span></p>
<p><span class="userContent">In contrast, she questions one officer responding to a domestic disturbance alone. "Twenty-nine seconds after you arrive, my son is dead and you're going to wait seven minutes before you do anything?" asks Denise Rosson. <br /></span></p>
<p><span class="userContent">The grief-stricken mother suggests more compassion to the families of people killed in police encounters. For example, she says she didn't find out charges weren't going to be filed against the officer until a reporter called. </span></p>
<p><span class="userContent">And she says she went to the scene on June 8 and saw her son lying dead. "They sent me away like I was a nobody," recalls the mother. "They took my name and number. They couldn't tell me for nine hours whether my kid was alive or dead. I guess they felt like his life was worthless."</span></p>
<p><span class="userContent">Denise Rosson wants people to know that "Greg wasn't the monster people made him out to be. He was my baby," she says. "You'll never justify killing him like an animal."</span></p>
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http://www.readthehook.com/110041/self-defense-no-charges-officer-afton-shooting#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedalbemarle police shootinggreg rossonNewsFri, 23 Aug 2013 20:53:10 +0000lisa110041 at http://www.readthehook.comWho shot Greg Rosson? ID of police officer still secrethttp://www.readthehook.com/110015/who-shot-greg-rosson-id-police-officer-still-secret
<p>August 16 was Gregory Rosson's 22nd birthday. His family brought flowers, his two dogs, and sang "Happy Birthday" to him— at Prize Hill Cemetery in Boonesville, where he was buried June 14. They also planned a bonfire because that's what he'd said he wanted before he died.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<p>More than two months since Rosson was shot by an Albemarle police officer, questions remain for his family about the June 8 slaying, including the identity of the officer who killed him, and what the circumstances were that required lethal force. They also cite inconsistencies in the Virginia State Police press release issued following Rosson's death and information in the search warrant issued just hours after the shooting.</p>
<p>According to the state police press release, a 911 call was placed at 2:16am June 8 about a domestic disturbance in the 9000-block of Rockfish Gap Turnpike on Afton Mountain. The Albemarle police officer who arrived on the scene saw a female being assaulted. "The suspect ran towards the officer who fired his weapon," said the release.</p>
<p>Rosson's sister, Lauren Moore, finds it strange that the search warrants written within hours of the shooting by Virginia State Police Special Agent B.D. Tuggle provide a different scenario: "An Albemarle County Police Officer responded to a domestic and upon arrival observed a male assaulting a female, the officer gave the male commands to stop but he did not stop and the officer subsequently shot the male to stop the threat."</p>
<p>Moore notes that the warrant doesn't say anything about Rosson running toward the officer. "Why wasn't that written in the officer's statement?" she asks.</p>
<p>The same warrant to search a tan single-wide trailer with an addition, the curtilage, and all vehicles at 9049 Rockfish Gap Turnpike lists an inventory of what was recovered: a magazine, four cartridge cases, and a beer can. Police also retrieved a wallet, phone charger and iPhone belonging to Rosson.</p>
<p>It was Rosson's mother who had placed the 911 call, fearing for the safety of her son and his former girlfriend. "I told them Greg had a mental condition, and he had an alter personality," says Denise Rosson. "And when it was out, he was mean."</p>
<p>Denise Rosson says she'd been on the phone with the woman and could hear her say, "Greg, stop it," and the phone would go dead. She called back and talked to her son. "He said he was going to choke her out," she says. That's when she called 911. "I told them his alter was out. I could tell that was his alter."</p>
<p>Rosson had been in trouble with police before, and following a brawl with officers at a Greenwood gas station in December, he'd been diagnosed with dissociative personality disorder. He was scheduled to be in court June 11 for assaulting an officer and disarming an officer of a stun gun.</p>
<p>In 2009, Rosson also had an accident in which he drove a Chevy Malibu into the Crozet Library. He was hospitalized for weeks, and charged with reckless driving. That's why his mother doubts the police account that he was running toward an officer before he was shot. "He couldn't run after the wreck," she says. "Some days he couldn't walk."</p>
<p>Albemarle police have steadfastly refused to identify the officer who killed Rosson, citing the ongoing investigation by the Virginia State Police, which is now complete, Colonel Steve Sellers told the <em>Hook</em> a few weeks ago. Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford, who will determine whether criminal charges will be filed, is reviewing the findings. At press time, she had not returned a phone call from the <em>Hook</em>.</p>
<p>"After she reviews it, more information will be released regarding the shooting," says Albemarle police spokesperson Carter Johnson.</p>
<p>The deadly force in the Afton Mountain incident was the fourth shooting by an area police officer in six months: On December 26, an Albemarle police officer fired and missed during a stand-off on Rio Mills Road that ended in a murder-suicide. During a fray at the Elks Lodge on Second Street NW March 16, a Charlottesville police officer shot and wounded a man who was holding a gun. Another Charlottesville man was wounded May 26 at his Birdwood Court residence when two Albemarle police officers came to investigate a felony hit-and-run.</p>
<p>In the two city shootings, Charlottesville Police identified the officers who discharged their weapons within days of the incidents, and in both cases, the shootings were found justifiable.</p>
<p>Greg Rosson's family is having a hard time understanding why it's been 10 weeks since his death and they still don't know the name of the public servant who killed him.</p>
<p>"It's still a nightmare because they're not telling us anything," says Moore. "How would they feel if this happened to their family member?"</p>
<p>And his mother questions her decision to call 911 that night. "These days you don't know if you're going to call the cops for help and someone's going to end up dead," she says. "I'll never call the cops for help again."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/110015/who-shot-greg-rosson-id-police-officer-still-secret#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedalbemarle police shootinggreg rossonNewsMon, 19 Aug 2013 17:50:20 +0000lisa110015 at http://www.readthehook.comFamily in the dark: Police still mum on who shot Greg Rossonhttp://www.readthehook.com/109896/family-dark-police-still-mum-who-shot-greg-rosson
<p>July 8 was the one-month anniversary of Gregory Rosson's death. His family visited his grave, their tears mixing with the rain that was falling. "It still feels like it just happened," says a family member.</p>
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<p>More than five weeks after the 21-year-old's June 8 death, police still have not identified the officer who fired the fatal shot at Rosson, and his family tells the <em>Hook</em> they don't understand why.</p>
<p>"The investigation is still ongoing, and it's a State Police investigation," says Albemarle police spokesperson Carter Johnson.</p>
<p>"The investigation remains ongoing," echoes Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller.</p>
<p>Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford, who will determine whether charges will be filed, did not return a phone call from the <em>Hook</em>.</p>
<p>County police received a 911 call of a domestic abuse situation at 2:16am June 8 in the 9000-block of Rockfish Gap Turnpike, according to a state police press release. The responding officer allegedly saw Rosson assaulting a woman, and when Rosson ran toward him, fired.</p>
<p>It was Rosson's mother, Denise Moore Rosson, who had called police for help, says a family member, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. "She wanted help for both of them," says the relative.</p>
<p>She was worried because of Rosson's tumultuous relationship with the former girlfriend, and because her son had been diagnosed with dissociative personality disorder following an altercation with police in December at a Greenwood gas station, according to the unnamed relative. Rosson had been scheduled to appear in court June 11 on charges of assaulting an officer and disarming an officer of a stun gun.</p>
<p>"No I haven't heard anything, and no I'm not satisfied with any of it because my child is dead," says Denise Rosson in response to a Facebook message from the <em>Hook</em>.</p>
<p>Rosson's was the fourth police-involved shooting in the past six months, and the third involving an Albemarle police officer.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/109896/family-dark-police-still-mum-who-shot-greg-rosson#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedalbemarle police shootinggreg rossonNewsTue, 16 Jul 2013 17:07:15 +0000lisa109896 at http://www.readthehook.comSelf-defense: Officers cleared in Birdwood Court shootinghttp://www.readthehook.com/109833/officers-cleared-birdwood-court-shooting
<p>A grand jury has indicted the man shot by Albemarle police in a city neighborhood Memorial Day weekend and cleared the officers involved, according to a release from Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Chapman.</p>
<p>The May 26 incident began around 8:45pm at Seminole Square Shopping Center when Josue Salinas Valdez rear-ended a car stopped at a light, says Chapman. Salinas Valdez sped away while the driver immediately called 911 with a description of him, his car, and his license number.</p>
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<p>About nine minutes later, Albemarle police officers William Underwood and James Herring showed up at 105 Birdwood Court, where Salinas Valdez, the registered owner of the car, was standing on the porch. The officers noticed slurred speech and the odor of alcohol on Salinas Valdez, who was "uncooperative," says the release.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the melée that followed, Salinas Valdez grabbed Officer Underwood, who was injured. Officer Herring used his Taser to stun Salinas Valdez twice, but that didn't seem to slow him. During a struggle, Salinas Valdez grabbed Underwood's police baton and Herring's Taser cartridge was dislodged.</p>
<p>While Officer Herring went to the car to get another cartridge, Salinas Valdez advanced on Underwood and did not heed orders to stop, which were audible on a contemporaneous recording made on Herring's mobile video recorder, part of the evidence supplied to the grand jury.</p>
<p>"Officer Underwood audibly told him two times that he would shoot him if he did not comply with his instructions," says the release. Salinas Valdez continued to advance with the police baton raised, and Underwood shot him in the torso.</p>
<p>On July 1, the grand jury charged Salinas Valdez with DUI, felony hit-and-run, assault on a law enforcement officer, and attempted malicious wounding of an officer.</p>
<p>Salinas Valdez had encountered Officer Herring at least once before, according to court records. Earlier this year, he was charged with misdemeanor failure to stop at the scene of a March 24 accident, in which Herring was the investigating officer. Salinas Valdez was convicted May 20— six days before the Seminole Square hit-and-run— and fined $500 and $91 in court costs.</p>
<p>The grand jury determined that the shooting was in self-defense, and no charges were warranted against Underwood, whom the Albemarle County Police Department honored with its valor award for his role in a December 26 murder-suicide at Rio Mills Road. A U.S. Army veteran, he served two tours in Iraq and was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star according to retired U.S. Army Col. J.P. Jenkins, who wrote <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109764/officers-defense">a letter to the <em>Hook</em></a> praising Underwood soon after the shooting.</p>
<p>"This man has proven his 'mettle' and judgment under fire and cares for his community," wrote Jenkins.</p>
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<p>The Birdwood Court shooting was the first of two shootings by Albemarle police within two weeks. On June 8, a still-unidentified Albemarle officer fatally fired upon 21-year-old Gregory Allen Rosson when responding to a domestic dispute on Afton Mountain. That case is still under investigation by the Virginia State Police.</p>
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http://www.readthehook.com/109833/officers-cleared-birdwood-court-shooting#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedalbemarle police shootingbirdwood courtjames herringwilliam underwoodNewsTue, 02 Jul 2013 15:54:17 +0000lisa109833 at http://www.readthehook.com2 police shootings: No new info releasedhttp://www.readthehook.com/109787/2-police-shootings-no-new-information-released
<p>Within two weeks, Albemarle police officers shot people in two separate incidents, one of which was fatal. The details of the Birdwood Court and Afton Mountain shootings are still under wraps.</p>
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<p>More than two weeks after 21-year-old Gregory Allen Rosson, Jr. was gunned down June 8 on Afton Mountain, the identity of the Albemarle police officer who fatally fired upon him is still a secret. Both Virginia State Police, which is investigating the slaying, and the Albemarle County Police Department refuse to identify the police officer.</p>
<p>"As is consistent with our policy, the Virginia State Police does not release the law enforcement officer’s name," says state police spokesperson Corinne Geller. "Such information is released by the employing agency."</p>
<p>"We are not releasing the officer's name at this time," says Albemarle police spokesperson Carter Johnson.</p>
<p>What is known about the slaying is that Albemarle police received a 911 call about a domestic dispute at 2:16am June 8 in the 9000 block of Rockfish Gap Turnpike, according to a state police press release. The responding officer allegedly saw a woman being assaulted, and when Rosson ran toward him, the officer fired his weapon.</p>
<p>Rosson, who had been in trouble with police in December when he picked up multiple charges for allegedly assaulting police at the Supertest gas station in Greenwood, had recently been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, says his sister. He was killed just days before his scheduled June 11 court date.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"The investigation remains ongoing at this time, and we have no additional information to release," said Geller on June 21. "Once the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Field Office has completed its investigation into the shooting, the findings will be turned over to the commonwealth’s attorney for final review and adjudication."</p>
<p>Charlottesville police still are investigating the May 26 Birdwood Court shooting, and unlike their counterparts in Albemarle and in the state police, have released the name of the county police officer who wounded a man in a city neighborhood.</p>
<p>Officers William Underwood and James Herring were investigating a felony hit-and-run at 105 Birdwood Court when "a struggle ensued," according to a May 30 release. Underwood— who just a week earlier had received Albemarle police's valor award, the department's highest honor— fired and shot Josue Salinas Valdez, 38, who was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.</p>
<p>Since then, nada. City police spokesperson Ronnie Roberts told the <em>Hook</em> on June 13 that investigators were waiting on results from the Virginia Department of Forensic Science.</p>
<p>By June 21, no charges had been filed, and the commonwealth's attorney will determine whether the shooting is justified after all the facts have been gathered, says Roberts.</p>
<p>As for why gunfire erupted a month ago on a quiet Sunday evening in a kid-filled neighborhood, says Roberts, "The case is still being investigated, and with it being an ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate to discuss."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/109787/2-police-shootings-no-new-information-released#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedalbemarle police shootingbirdwood courtgreg rossonNewsFri, 21 Jun 2013 20:23:24 +0000lisa109787 at http://www.readthehook.comCode of silence: County clams up when cops open firehttp://www.readthehook.com/109682/birdwood-shooting-city-releases-name-cop-albemarle-refuses-again
<p>Two days after a 21-year-old Crozet man was shot dead by an Albemarle police officer on June 8, officials finally released his name. Neither Albemarle police nor Virginia State Police, which is investigating the case, responded to a request for the name of the officer who used lethal force.</p>
<p>That's not too much of a surprise in Albemarle County, where if you shoot someone and are not charged, your secret is pretty much safe. The Albemarle County Police Department has developed a practice of protecting the identities of shooters, and they say they're backed up by the Freedom of Information Act.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div class="sidebar">
<h2>Related stories</h2>
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</div>
<p>Some find this troubling when those firing guns and wounding&#8211; or in this case, killing&#8211; people are county employees. "Everything the government does is our business," says attorney Debbie Wyatt, who successfully sued Albemarle police for a 1997 shooting. "It's your law enforcement; it's my law enforcement."</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Gregory Allen Rosson's death June 8 on Afton Mountain is the second shooting by an Albemarle cop in two weeks and the third in six months. When two officers showed up at Birdwood Court May 26, it took four days for any information to come out about why county cops had wounded a man in a quiet, kid-filled city neighborhood. When information was released, it was from the city police department, which is conducting the criminal investigation, not the county.</p>
<p>"Anytime an officer discharges a weapon, they're put on paid administrative leave," says Albemarle police spokesperson Carter Johnson. That was the case also for the officer who was involved in a shooting on Rio Mills Road December 26, which was later determined to be a murder-suicide.</p>
<p>"We only conducted internal investigations for both of those cases, and it is not our practice to release personnel files or information from internal affairs," says Johnson, when the names of the gunfiring officers are requested. "This information is protected under the Freedom of Information Act."</p>
<p>Virginia FOIA code also says that information may be disclosed under the discretion of the custodian.</p>
<p>"That's right," says Albemarle police chief Colonel Steve Sellers. "I choose not to disclose."</p>
<p>While internal affairs investigations are indeed exempt under FOIA, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council's Alan Gernhardt says information is sometimes released "after a public outcry or pressure put on by the press." As for whether it's good policy to withhold the names of police officers involved in shootings, suggests Gernhardt, "Bring it up with the legislature."</p>
<p>Ironically, while the identity of the officer who fired his weapon in the Rio Mills standoff is still a secret if you ask for it from county police under FOIA, four officers were publicly identified and praised for their roles in the incident at a May 23 police banquet. Officer Andy Gluba, Corporal Kanie Richardson and officers Jason Marden and William Underwood— the latter later revealed to have wounded Josue Salinas Valdez a week after the banquet at Birdwood Court, according to a May 30 Charlottesville Police Department release— all received Albemarle police's highest honor, the valor award, for their roles in the Rio Mills stand-off.</p>
<p>"You were invited to that event," says Sellers, who refuses to tell a reporter on the phone the identity of the officers he had publicly honored.</p>
<p>Fortunately, from other media accounts about the banquet, one can learn a little about what happened at Rio Mills. The <a href="http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/identities-released-in-officer-involved-shooting/article_adab457c-c9a0-11e2-b0bb-0019bb30f31a.html"><em>Daily Progress</em> reports</a> that Frank Davis Jr. raised a gun at Gluba, who fired in self-defense and missed. Davis killed James Marshall and then himself, and the Virginia State Police, which investigated the deaths, cleared Gluba, according to the <em>Progress</em>. But the <em>Hook </em>was unable to independently verify that with state police, which referred a reporter back to Albemarle police and Denise Lunsford, the Albemarle commonwealth's attorney, who did not return a phone call from the <em>Hook</em>.</p>
<p>Officer Gluba has been involved in at least three other shootings, according to court documents and a neighbor's complaint. On January 9, 2000, he shot a neighbor's lab mix, Astro, and admitted the shooting, according to Astro's owner, Tory Sperry. She pressed&nbsp; charges, she told the <em>Hook</em>, but they were dismissed because Gluba contended he had not been read his Miranda rights. He told the <em>Hook</em> in 2006 he shot Astro because the dog came onto his property with a pack and threatened Ingo, the Albemarle K-9 officer who was killed in the second Gluba-involved shooting.</p>
<p>In that 2004 incident, B&amp;E suspect Robert Lee Cooke was pursued by responding officers Gluba and Ingo. Cooke and Ingo were both injured by gunfire, and Ingo had to be euthanized. Cooke was left paralyzed by Gluba's bullet, according to court documents, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for maliciously wounding the police K-9 and possessing a gun as a felon, according to court records.</p>
<p>And on New Year's Day 2010, Gluba was one of seven cops involved in a shoot-out with 18-year-old Colby Eppard, who stole a Greene County police cruiser and led police on a nearly 70-mile chase before being blasted by police on Route 20 south, according to a letter written by Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney Lunsford. She cleared all officers, but refused to release the number of bullets that riddled Eppard's body when asked by a reporter.</p>
<p>Gluba also turns up in a lawsuit in Albemarle Circuit Court filed by James Francis Phillips of Arrington that claims during a November 29, 2006, traffic stop, Gluba ordered Phillips to the ground, where he was attacked by a K-9, and severely injured on his face, stomach and arm, according to the suit. Phillips later committed suicide, says his attorney, and the suit did not move forward. <strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>Gluba, who no longer works in the K-9 unit, according to police spokesperson Johnson, declined a <em>Hook</em> request for an interview.</p>
<p>County police's refusal to release names of officers involved in shootings disturbs Rutherford Institute founder John Whitehead and author of the just-released <em>A Government of Wolves: The Emerging Police State</em>.</p>
<p>"I would want to know who those cops are," he says. "Wouldn't you? If we live in a democracy and they're shooting people, we should know."</p>
<p>Whitehead cites the case of former Culpeper cop Daniel Harmon-Wright, who was convicted for shooting unarmed Patricia Cook in a church parking lot. "They knew this guy was dangerous," says Whitehead. "There is a danger to citizens. Why would they hide that? The key to free government is transparency."</p>
<p>Culpeper police refused to release Harmon-Wright's name for three months, and it was eventually leaked to the <em>Free Lance-Star</em>. Harmon-Wright was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and two other charges in May and sentenced to three years in prison.</p>
<p>That department came under the scrutiny of a federal judge for what he called "outrageous misconduct" in the handling of a capital murder conviction against Michael Hash, who is suing officers and the former commonwealth's attorney for wrongful imprisonment for the nearly 12 years he spent in prison.</p>
<p><strong>FOIA request: Denied</strong><br />Albemarle police protect not only their officers, but also citizens who shoot other citizens. When a Glenmore woman was wounded in her yard in 2010 by nearby target shooters, no charges were brought and county police refused to identify the errant-aiming target-practicer. Nearly two years later, police again denied a FOIA request seeking the identity of the shooter, claiming it was exempt as a criminal investigative file.</p>
<p>Colonel Sellers rejects the idea that his department conceals woundings by police, and notes that the Birdwood Court shooting is the first since he took the position as police chief in January 2011. He says the release of information is determined case by case. "If it's in the community interest," he says, "that far outweighs protection of the officer's family.</p>
<p>Sellers, who spoke to the <em>Hook</em> before Rosson was shot, lists five "bullet-points" that can stymie the release of information from shootings by police. "First, I'm not going to influence the outcome of a police investigation before it's concluded, as at Birdwood," he says. "We need to look at facts and interview witnesses. We don't want a story going out that would distort their recall."</p>
<p>He also cites the need to investigate the original crime that brought the officer to the shooting scene in the first place. In the Birdwood Court shooting, Charlottesville police say the two Albemarle officers were investigating a felony hit-and-run.</p>
<p>Besides the criminal investigation, there's also an administrative investigation. An officer can refuse to incriminate himself in the former, but not in the latter, explains Sellers. "I've got to be very, very careful the criminal and administrative investigations don't infringe on each other."</p>
<p>He also considers the human side of tragedies in which an officer uses deadly force. "You have just brushed up with death," says Sellers. "In some cases, it's devastating." And the officer's family is impacted as well, he adds.</p>
<p>Finally, the chief says, he does a threat assessment to determine whether there's risk of retaliation against the officer, and that's a factor in releasing information as well.</p>
<p>"I want to lay out as much information as fast as I can," he insists. "It's easy for conspiracy theories to perk up." One frustration, he says, is having to wait for the criminal investigation, the commonwealth's attorney, and the grand jury before information can be released.</p>
<p>"I will be transparent and as forthright as I can when misconduct occurs," says Sellers. "You saw that when we arrested one of our own officers."</p>
<p>In December, a 27-year Albemarle police veteran, Lieutenant Ernie Allen, was arrested for felony embezzlement when $380 went missing from the petty cash he managed. Allen was convicted of misdemeanor embezzling in February and sentenced to 10 days in jail, according to Albemarle County District Court records.</p>
<p>Sellers says the threat of lawsuits is not a factor in concealing the identity of an officer who fires at someone, although history shows such suits are possible.</p>
<p>In 2006, a jury found Albemarle County Police Department officer Amos Chiarappa "grossly negligent" in the 1997 fatal shooting of Frederick Gray in Squire Hill Apartments, and awarded Gray's family $4.5 million.</p>
<p>County police had another high-profile suspect-shooting in 2001, when Officer Raleigh Anderson was reported to have fired upon and killed William L. Wingfield Jr., 46, who had lunged at another officer with a pitchfork when they responded to a domestic call to his residence on Old Lynchburg Road, according to the <em>Daily Progress</em>, which also reported his mother said he had a history of&nbsp; mental illness. Then commonwealth's attorney Jim Camblos cleared Anderson in that shooting.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Sellers denies that potential police department embarrassment is a factor in withholding information, although history shows that, too, is possible.</p>
<p>Perhaps coincidentally, the last dashcam video the <em>Hook</em> ever received from Albemarle police went viral on YouTube. That was the infamous November 5, 2007, tape that showed Officer Greg C. Davis, with the Black Eyed Peas "My Humps" playing inside his police cruiser, appear to strike artist Gerry Mitchell with his cruiser as Mitchell crossed West Main in his wheelchair in a crosswalk.</p>
<p>Davis was not charged in the incident, although he accompanied a Charlottesville police officer to Mitchell's hospital room where Mitchell was charged with failure to obey a pedestrian signal. Discovery in a&nbsp; civil lawsuit later suggested that Davis may have been texting as he plowed into Mitchell.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Mitchell died four years later, just two months after the county settled the $850,000 lawsuit he filed for an undisclosed amount. He had AIDS, but his doctors claimed his condition was exacerbated by injuries he suffered when he was struck in the crosswalk.<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p>Subsequent FOIAs to Albemarle police for dashcam footage from the <em>Hook</em> have all been denied, even one last year that was shown in court of Officer Andrew Holmes rear-ending a stopped car on Barracks Road, an incident for which he was convicted of improper driving, according to court records. Authorities have said at least eight police dashcams were operating during the Colby Eppard shooting in 2010. <em>Hook</em> FOIA requests for those tapes? Denied.</p>
<p>Also no longer released: Albemarle police officer official photographs.</p>
<p>Attorney Wyatt, who also represented Mitchell in his civil suit, is outraged that county police are denying FOIA requests concerning possible criminal acts using an exemption for personnel records. "What if there was some cop out there shooting someone every day, and as long as they clear him, they don't have to say who it is," she suggests.</p>
<p>"How else can we monitor how the system works?" she asks. "Everything the government does is our information. That acting like it's not your business— I think [Sellers] is completely wrong."</p>
<p>Supervisor Ken Boyd was surprised to learn that Albemarle police were not disclosing the identity of Officer Gluba, who reportedly fired his weapon at Rio Mills. "I just got back from a police banquet where they honored this officer," he says.</p>
<p>Boyd says he understands the need for care when police gather evidence, but adds, "Generally speaking, I'm in favor of transparency in government."</p>
<p>As for the Birdwood Court shooting, says Boyd, "I believe the public does deserve to know what happened."</p>
<p><strong>Back to Birdwood Court</strong><br />Early March 16, gunfire broke out on Second Street NW outside the Elks Lodge (and across the street from the <em>Hook</em>) and two men were left bleeding in the street, one of them wounded by Charlottesville police Officer Alex Bruner. Later that same morning, Charlottesville police Chief Tim Longo held a press conference, offered details of the shooting and identified Bruner, who was put on administrative leave and has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>City police spokeman Ronnie Roberts cautions about comparing the police candor in the Elks Lodge shootings and what happened on Birdwood Court. "Those are two different scenarios and two different typles of investigations," he says. "The first had an independent witness."</p>
<p>Three days after the May 26 Birdwood shooting, Roberts said he couldn't release the name of the Albemarle officer or the victim because, he was told, "It could compromise the investigation."</p>
<p>Four days after the shooting, Roberts released a statement around 3pm May 30 that revealed two Albemarle police officers— William Underwood and James Herring— went to 105 Birdwood Court to investigate a felony hit-and-run. A struggle ensued with resident Josue Salinas Valdez, age 38, and Underwood fired, according to the release.</p>
<p>At press time, nearly two weeks after the shooting, no charges have been filed and no further information has been released. Whether Salinas Valdez was armed is still unknown.</p>
<p>"I would ask people to be patient," says Colonel Sellers. "It takes time to investigate, and that exacerbates the perception of a cover-up. We want to have all our T's crossed and I's dotted."</p>
<p>Birdwood Court residents just want to know how a neighbor came to be shot by police on a quiet, holiday Sunday night.</p>
<p>"It's completely bizarre," says the homeowners association president Laura Rydin, who was watching a movie with her kids when gunfire erupted.&nbsp; Two days after the shooting, she said, "We're trying to figure out what's going on. We're hoping police issue a statement because this is a very quiet neighborhood and so many families live here. We'd like an explanation."</p>
<p>More than a week later, she says, "We're still waiting for some sort of statement from the police to our neighborhood, but nothing so far."</p>
<p>Days after the Afton shooting, there's a similar pattern, with some who knew Rosson asking why deadly force had to be used in the encounter with police.</p>
<p>If history's a teacher, it could be a while before those questions are answered— if they ever are.</p>
<p><em>Correction 6/13: In the original version, Alan Gernhardt's affiliation was misidentified. He's with the Freedom of Information Advisory Council.</em></p>
http://www.readthehook.com/109682/birdwood-shooting-city-releases-name-cop-albemarle-refuses-again#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedalbemarle policealbemarle police shootingfoiaCover StoriesThu, 30 May 2013 21:28:48 +0000lisa109682 at http://www.readthehook.comFatal police-involved shooting closes U.S. 250http://www.readthehook.com/109716/fatal-police-involved-shooting-closes-us-250
<p>Albemarle police responding to a call about a domestic disturbance on Rockfish Gap Turnpike around 2:30am Saturday, June 8, were involved in a fatal shooting, according to a Virginia State Police release. Police closed U.S. 250 between Route 151 and the top of Afton Mountain, and it remained closed until around noon.</p>
<p>Virginia State Police, which are investigating the shooting, say the call came from a residence.</p>
<p>A neighbor nearby on Old Turnpike Road reported hearing a helicopter earlier Saturday morning. A state police mobile crime unit was on the scene, and then drove to a Ford F150 black pickup parked off U.S. 250 at Plank Road about a mile from where the road was closed. Officers on the scene declined to comment.</p>
<p>This is the second shooting involving an Albemarle police officer in two weeks. On May 26, a<a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109696/birdwood-court-details-still-murky-police-shooting"> man was shot on Birdwood Court in Charlottesville</a>.</p>
<p>It's also the second time in little more than a month that police have closed a major thoroughfare in area for an investigation. On May 6, <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109555/fake-id-bust-feds-bust-rugby-road-trio">Rugby Road was closed</a> for the bust of a fake ID ring.</p>
<p>No details have been released at this time about who was shot on Afton Mountain.</p>
<p>&#8211; developing</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/109716/fatal-police-involved-shooting-closes-us-250#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedalbemarle police shootingNewsSat, 08 Jun 2013 17:50:09 +0000lisa109716 at http://www.readthehook.comBirdwood Court: Details still murky in police shootinghttp://www.readthehook.com/109696/birdwood-court-details-still-murky-police-shooting
<p>Juan Cervantes was cleaning up from a Memorial Day cookout at his house on Birdwood Court when he heard people "yelling and screaming at each other," he says.</p>
<p>He approached the street from his yard. "Someone said, 'I'm going to shoot you,'" recounts Cervantes, and then there was one shot. He called 911.</p>
<p>Birdwood Court is a quiet Charlottesville neighborhood of attractive duplexes off the U.S. 250 bypass near McIntire Road. Cervantes, who's lived there nine years, said his son rode his scooter on the street and saw a police car— an Albemarle County police cruiser.</p>
<p>"It was scary," says Cervantes. "My son was riding around. There are lots of children in this neighborhood. There are kids in the park."</p>
<p>The events surrounding the 9pm Sunday night, May 26, shooting left residents in the dark for four days, until Charlottesville police issued a release May 30.</p>
<p>Two Albemarle police officers— William Underwood and James Herring— were investigating a felony hit-and-run at 105 Birdwood Court, according to the release. They had contact with Josue Salinas Valdez, 38, and "a struggle ensued," says the release, which reveals that Officer Underwood— who just a week earlier had received Albemarle police's valor award, the department's highest honor— fired and shot Valdez.</p>
<p>The wounded man was taken to UVA Medical Center and was in stable condition, according to the release. Although Valdez was not listed as a patient when a reporter called the hospital May 31, UVA spokesperson Eric Swensen says his condition is "good" on June 3.</p>
<p>At press time, the investigation is ongoing, says Roberts, and no charges have been filed. The two officers are on paid administrative leave, according to Albemarle police spokesperson Carter Johnson.</p>
<p>"It is common for Albemarle County officers to be in the city of Charlottesville," says Johnson. "It is also common for officers from the CPD to be in Albemarle County. Officers often follow up on leads in other jurisdictions. We share a common communication system with the city of Charlottesville, and the Emergency Communications Center is always aware of the officers' locations."</p>
<p>Still not revealed by police: Whether Valdez was armed.</p>
<p>"It's completely bizarre," says Birdwood Court Homeowners Association president Laura Rydin on May 28, two days after the shooting at 105 Birdwood Court. Rydin was watching a movie with her kids when she heard a loud boom. "I knew it was a gunshot because it was so close," she says.</p>
<p>"We're trying to figure out what's going on," she says. "We're hoping police issue a statement because this is a very quiet neighborhood and so many families live here. We'd like an explanation."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/109696/birdwood-court-details-still-murky-police-shooting#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedalbemarle policealbemarle police shootingbirdwood courtjames herringwilliam underwoodNewsMon, 03 Jun 2013 21:47:23 +0000lisa109696 at http://www.readthehook.com